Potions and Ponytails
by trashcanhead
Summary: Teenage love can be be frustrating and complicated. SS/LE, RL/SB, maybe JP/LE, MWPP era. First story, please R/R.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: It's been a long, long time since I've written anything fictional, so be gentle. Sev/Lily, and gayness. ALSO, thanks to loonymoon for forcing me to write again. :)

* * *

"Look at the slimy git!"

"Oh, James, don't be an asshole."

Severus's heart gave a small leap at these words. Not at being called names, no he was used to that. It was _her_ voice, Lily Evans. Severus had known Lily even before they began attending Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry together. Their lives, however, seemed to belong to parallel planes. For the sake of outward appearances, their social networks did not meet. They were as different as royalty were to peasants. Severus could imagine it now, Lily, as the queen of England, draped from head to toe in purple, and Severus as a lowly cod-salesman in the East End. He was, at least, more polite than a cod-salesman. Severus was reserved, keeping mostly to himself and his books. He was mostly ignored, except by James Potter and his gang of friends. Lily, on the other hand, was a social butterfly; many of her friends knew of her acquaintance with Severus Snape, and questioned her sanity for it. "Why would you hang out with him? He's so weird!" they would exclaim, before realizing he could overhear them.

As class was dismissed, Lily gave Severus an apologetic glance, slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking out with James. He slowly gathered up his books and wand, trying to ignore the knot in his stomach. Lily and James were all wrong for each other, he though fiercely, his eyes down as people passed him. James was too... well, too much of a cocky bastard, to put it bluntly. All he ever did was brag about quidditch and tousle his hair, the big jerk. Heaving a sigh, Severus ran his thumbs along the waist of his trousers, two sizes too big and belted tightly to hold them up. That jerk, James Potter, undoubtedly did not know the color of her eyes, the smell of her hair, or the number of freckles she had on each cheek. Did James Potter know what Lily feared? What she loved? _I doubt it_, thought Severus as he stalked off to the dungeons.

Lily was sitting across from James in the library, her head bowed over a book she was memorizing out loud, the end of her eagle feather quill between her lips. James was slouched in his chair, letting a snitch escape momentarily before catching it again.

"James, would you please put that thing away?" Lily snapped, slamming her quill down. "You asked me to help you with Slughorn's essay. If you don't want my help, I'll just leave!"

"Oh, come on, you know you like being with me," James said, grinning, the tiny golden snitch fluttering in his clenched hand. At that, Lily snapped her book shut, hastily threw her belongings into her bag, and stormed out of the library. Fuming, she marched through the corridors of the castle, scarcely watching where she was going. Friends called out to her to greet her, only to receive silence in response. How often did she put up with him? How much more _would_ she put up with James? With her anger slowly ebbing away, she found herself outside on the grounds, standing beside a black haired boy. He was hunched over a book, his belongings spread about him on the grass. Taking a slow, deliberate breath, Lily addressed the boy when he turned to look up at her.

"Hello, Sevvy," she said, a small smile creeping to her lips. She plopped onto the ground next to him and heaved a sigh.

"Hey, Lily," Severus replied, closing his book and setting it down.

"Oh, Sev, I can't take boys anymore," she grumbled, leaning her head on Severus's shoulder.

"What about me?"

"You don't count," Lily teased. Severus's heart thumped against his chest; they were sitting very close. Dare he put his arm around her or hold her hand? Would anyone around them notice? Butterflies grew in his stomach just at the thought, and he began to perspire. Slowly and with purpose, he lifted his hand and reached over. Severus made to hold her hand, but merely patted it awkwardly.

"Thanks for the support, Sevvy," Lily said, standing up and gathering her bag. "See you later." She didn't notice as he frowned and rubbed his hand through his greasy hair.

* * *

Remus Lupin was not an ordinary fifteen-year-old. Once a month, he fled the school grounds, beneath the Whomping Willow through the underground passage, to transform under the full moon. No, he was not an ordinary boy; he was a werewolf. His condition was kept secret with the help of his best friends, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. They had taught themselves to become animagi, people who could transform into animals at will. And with their aid, Remus was able to control himself as a werewolf.

Soon would be another night for adventure. Remus was sitting between Sirius and James in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They were whispering excitedly, already making plans for the upcoming full moon, when Professor Luciferian so rudely interrupted them.

"Gentlemen, I believe we were reading pages thirty to forty-eight. Unless you have something, which indeed seems to be most invigorating, to share with everyone?"

"N-no, professor," said Remus quickly.

"We were just discussing the reading," James added with a glamorous grin. Sirius nodded, also flashing a smile. Remus tried not to notice the way Sirius's smooth lips curved over his teeth with that smile. He looked everywhere but Sirius and prayed silently that the blood wasn't rushing to his cheeks. As class ended, he payed careful attention to putting his books away neatly in his bag and made sure James walked between himself and Sirius.

"So anyway," began James. "Three Broomsticks tonight? Rosmerta is working, isn't she?" He smirked at Sirius. Remus felt the knot in his stomach twist.

"Yeah, I just need to think of something to tell Narcissa," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "I can't wait to be rid of her, though dear old mum won't be pleased. At least Rosmerta is fit." Sirius whistled and James laughed. Remus walked silently beside James, his eyes on the ground, willing the lump in his throat to disappear.

"So...yeah, Three Broomsticks?" he asked, forcing himself to smile. He knew that he would be forced to endure Sirius patting Rosmerta on the rear end, making crude comments. Surely Remus wouldn't mind if _he_ made crude comments to him.

"Wait up!" A short, round boy with a pointed face came scurrying from behind the trio. "What are we doing tonight?"

"Three Broomsticks, Peter" said Remus calmly.

James and Sirius glared at Remus as though annoyed.

"Really?" the mousy boy asked. "That's great! I'll see you there, then?"

"Er...yeah, sure," said Sirius, shrugging.

Later that night, Sirius, James, and Remus, crouched under the invisibility cloak, quietly snuck through the corridors and to the statue of the one-eyed witch. James tapped the witch with his wand and whispered, "Dissendium!" Once the passageway was open, they checked around them for any sign of life, pulled off the cloak, and slipped into the passage. They came out into the cellar of Honeyduke's, the sweet shop, some time later. As quiet as they could manage, they crept up the stairs and outside. The bell rang as they opened the door to the Three Broomsticks, one of the pubs in the small town of Hogsmeade. A curvy young twenty-something beamed at them from behind the bar as she caught sight of Sirius.

"Sirius!" she cried in joy, rushing over to greet them. She threw her arms around Sirius and kissed his cheek. Remus stood behind James and nervously fidgeted with his shirt. Without fail, he saw out of the corner of his eye Sirius reach behind Rosmerta, who gave a small squeal. "Sit down, sit down, I'll fix some drinks," she said with a coy smile which, Remus noticed, was only for Sirius. As the three sat down around a table, the bell chimed, and in walked Peter Pettigrew, the mousy boy. "Bloody Peter," muttered James. He hurried over to them, eagerly pulling up a chair and sitting with them.

"Hi, Peter," Remus said, nodding slightly. James and Sirius nodded and mumbled a greeting. Just then, Rosmerta came bustling over with a tray of drinks. She set down three tall goblets. Remus peered into the amber liquid. Firewhiskey. Never before had he been drunk. As he didn't have much tolerance for alcohol, being a werewolf, he tended to stay away from it. _What the hell_, he thought. Remus looked up as Sirius raised his glass.

"How about a drink to the beautiful Rosmerta," said Sirius, beaming at her. James cheered loudly and Peter merely inclined his head. Remus raised his glass a little and took the tiniest of sips. It burned going down and he could feel warmth settling in his stomach.

"Ah, how about a game?" asked James, downing about half his drink. He searched his pockets, patting down his chest and pants, and his face fell. "Bloody hell, I left the cards back in Gryffindor tower. Peter, go get them."

"O-okay," said Peter, setting down his glass eagerly, nearly knocking it over. He shoved his chair back and hurried out, the bell chiming as he left.

"Good, now that he's gone, we can play," said James, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a deck of pink cards. Remus eyed them warily. He had heard James and Sirius talk about these cards; they were a recent acquisition. These cards were specifically geared towards men and alcohol, notoriously used for a game called "Three Witches". Three suits had pictures of pretty, half-dressed women, the last suit having hags. When face up, however, the hags screamed. "All right," he said bossily. "Three Witches. Three cards face down. Flip them over and for every hag, you drink. For every witch, you give out a drink." Sirius eyed the deck excitedly. Holding the deck faced down, James dealt three cards to Sirius, Remus, and himself. "You first, Padfoot," he grinned. Sirius slowly and dramatically turned over the first card. It remained silent.

"Drink, Prongs!" James unquestioningly took a swig of his drink. Sirius flipped another card. The hag let out an ear-splitting scream, her face contorting. Quickly slapping it face down again, he took a drink. "Last one, Moony." He wiggled his eyebrows, then flipped over the last card, which also screamed. "Ah, bloody hell," he said dejectedly and took another drink. "Your turn, Moony."

Remus looked first a his amber drink, then at the pink cards. Warily, he turned the first one over. A beautiful witch waved up at him, her cleavage staring him in the face. He tried to force himself to feel excited over this barely-dressed beauty, but he felt nothing. Only Sirius came to mind. "Oh...er, Sirius." Sirius nodded and took a swig. With every swig he took, his cheeks turned a little pinker.

The boys continued their game, Remus only taking the tiniest of sips. The alcohol burned his throat, and he forced himself to not make faces. Rosmerta continually filled their glasses. "On the house!" she would exclaim, beaming at Sirius. She eyed him from the bar when she was not filling their glasses, taking inventory of how intoxicated he was getting. She batted her eyelashes and pulled at her shirt to show more and more cleavage. Remus felt a pang of irritation. Would she really take such advantage of him? He certainly could not let that happen. He looked from James to Sirius. Both their cheeks were considerably pink, and neither could stop grinning at the other.

"Er, perhaps I should take them back," said Remus after much internal debate, standing up. The Three Broomsticks was beginning to thin, people were retiring for the night. He grabbed the invisibility cloak and began dragging both Sirius and James to their feet.

"Ah, you're no fun," slurred Sirius, frowning.

"Come on, it's getting late." Remus pushed in their chairs and grabbed them both by the arm, leading them out the door.

"Sirius could spend the night with me," Rosmerta called, bustling over to them.

"Don't be silly, he has to go back to Hogwarts," Remus snapped. They were halfway out the door. He glanced up; the moon was almost full. It was harder to control his emotions when it was close to the full moon. He pushed his two friends out the door, slamming it behind him, leaving a stupefied Rosmerta. He lead them briskly, beneath the invisibility cloak, to the Shrieking Shack, and carefully through the tunnel back to the castle. Both James and Sirius tripped and stumbled their way along. The cloak was no help. Back in the castle, Remus bustled them along, silently praying that they didn't run into any teachers. James and Sirius were not helping their case, stomping along loudly. With some stroke of luck, they made it back to Gryffindor tower and the portrait of the Fat Lady. Remus nearly yelled the password with relief. The Fat Lady swung open after sleepily mumbling complaints about being woken up. Once inside the tower, he tore the cloak off them, and, still holding them by the arm, lead them up to their dormitory. James immediately collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep. Sirius stood in place, grinning stupidly at Remus. He noticed again the perfect way his lips curved over his perfect teeth. Unwanted desire was overcoming him, but he remained rooted to the spot, willing himself to not move.

"You know, Moony," Sirius whispered loudly. "You're the best." He grinned and threw his arms around Remus's middle.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lily Evans had been popular since she first came to Hogwarts. Girls surrounded her wherever she went. They envied her, for her blazing green eyes, for her long, red hair, for the way boys' eyes seemed to follow her. Professors adored her for her punctuality, for her perfectly worded essays. There was one professor in particular who favored her greatly.

It was nearing the end of the year when Slughorn approached Lily after Potions. Students could be found lounging about on the grounds, soaking up the sun and warmth, forgetting with ease about the end of year exams.

"Ah, Miss Evans, a word if I may," Professor Slughorn called. Lily nodded and, picking up her bag, approached his desk.

"Yes, Professor? Is it my essay? Was there something wrong with it?" She furrowed her brow, adjusting the strap on her shoulder nervously.

"No, no, nothing like that." He smiled in what must have been an attempt to be sympathetic. "This Friday... ah, I'm having a bit of an end-of-the-year party, if you would grace us with your beauty." Slughorn wrung his hands together.

"May I bring someone, Professor?"

"Of course, of course," he said with a wave of his hand. Again, he smiled at her. "Now let's not be late for our next class."

Lily rushed into the library later that day, throwing herself into a chair across from her best friend.

"Sev!" She whispered hoarsely, grinning. "Slughorn invited me to one of his parties this Friday, and he said I could bring anyone." She paused, eyeing him hopefully, twirling a lock of hair around her finger, and Severus looked up at her carefully. "Come with me, Sevvy? Please?" She pouted and batted her eyelashes playfully.

"You know what they'll say when they see you with-"

"Oh, Severus, don't be ridiculous! Do you really think I care what anyone else thinks? You're my friend. Please come with me!"

"Fine, I'll go," he said sourly, but was unable to keep a smile from spreading across his lips.

"You're the best!" Lily beamed at him, leaned over the library table and pecked his cheek. She left the library, leaving a stunned and dazed Severus.

Friday evening came too quickly and yet too slowly for Severus. He stood before a mirror. The dress slacks were a few inches too long, but at least they fit in the waist, he thought bitterly. These were his father's clothes, out of date muggle attire; they were the only dress clothes he owned. He threw his cloak over the ugly clothes. Surely everyone would laugh at him, especially if he tried to kiss Lily. Perhaps he should do something with his hair, he thought, peering into the mirror. Severus grabbed the comb off his dresser and, with a bottle of hair gel, slicked back his hair.

"That's a little better," he muttered to his reflection. He checked his watch; Lily had told him to meet her in the Great Hall at eight o' clock. It was ten to – perhaps he should go early. He carefully sheathed his wand into his belt. Holding his breath with excitement, he hurried through the green bedecked common room and out into the corridors. His heart beat wildly in his chest – he was going on a date with Lily! Severus could barely contain himself as he entered the Great Hall. And there she was. Lily was wearing dress robes of green that matched her eyes, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"You look…erm, very pretty," Severus mumbled, his eyes immediately dropping to the floor. Lily smiled. His hands shoved in his pockets, he stood there awkwardly. Lily held out her hand, and Severus blushed at merely the thought, but determinedly took it with his own.

"You aren't really nervous, are you, Sev?" She looked at him dubiously as they walked to Slughorn's office.

"Er… of course not." He swallowed, forcing himself to stand taller.

"Because if you're worried about Potter being there," she continued. "You can just forget about him."

"Of course I'm not!" he retorted defensively. They walked in silence, Severus mulling over the idea of Potter being there. How he'd love to curse him… but now was the time to think about Lily. Here he was, holding her hand like he'd wanted to for so long. Lily's hand was warm and soft in his own clammy one. All too quickly they reached Slughorn's office, and too soon did Lily take her hand out of his to open the door. They entered. The large office seemed to be crammed with students, talking, dancing, or otherwise sampling h'ourderves carried on large silver platters by house elves. Music was drifting through the crowd played by a live quartet nestled in the corner. Severus and Lily budged their way through the crowd. She waved to her friends and smiled, but continued on until they found a small, secluded corner. Severus stood with his back to the wall.

"Miss Evans!" Professor Slughorn approached them, beaming. "So glad you could make it. And this must be Mr. Snape. Yes, yes, how lovely, both of you being two of my best students!" Lily offered a smile.

"Thank you, Professor. We're glad we could come."

"Well, do enjoy yourselves!" Slughorn turned to find other students he had yet to greet. Lily turned back to Severus.

"I'm really glad you came with me, Sevvy," she smiled at him. "See? Nobody cares that you're with me." She gestured to the crowd of students, none of whom were paying attention to them.

"I guess you're right." He grinned sheepishly at her. With a rare surge of boldness, he took her hand, and waited for her to protest. But the protest did not come. Lily simply smiled at him and squeezed his hand. He took her other hand, still waiting for her to rip her hands away and tell him to leave her alone.

"Lily, I…" He paused. How long had he wanted to tell her how he felt? His heart was pounding. Was he really ready to do this? Lily looked up at him expectantly. "I…Iloveyoulily." The words came out in a tumbled mess.

"What?"

"I love you! Okay?" He swallowed hard, still waiting for a slap across the face. But again, she smiled. She remained quiet for a moment with a calculating look on her face. Slowly, she leaned towards him, reaching up on her toes. Severus froze. He hadn't expected this response. He hesitated, and then determinedly pressed his lips to hers. All too soon, she pulled away, looking bashful. Severus stood there, stunned. He had never kissed anyone before.

Severus and Lily, after sampling a few h'ourderves here and there, began to make their way to the door. Lily tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the door, which opened on its own. Suddenly, there was a bang as a dungbomb went off and stench filled the entire room. Still holding Lily's hand, Severus reached forward and grabbed at what appeared to be thin air. What he did get a hold of, however, was a fistful of watery fabric that came sliding off two boys.

James immediately took in what he saw.

"Lily! You're here with _him_?!" He made a gagging sound. Lily, however, marched forward and slapped him across the face. Sirius stared at her, half in disbelief, half in amazement. He quickly recovered himself, then whipped out his wand, pointing it at Severus. James followed suit.

"_Levicorpus_!" bellowed James. Severus flipped over into the air, his cloak dangling above his hand.

"STOP IT, JAMES!" Slughorn finally made his way to the source of the commotion.

"That is enough! Detention, both of you!" James let down his wand, and Severus fell to a heap on the floor. Lily bent down to help him up as Slughorn ushered James and Sirius out the door. He looked quite furious that his party had been ruined. People were filing out the door, muttering complaints about the dungbomb.

"Come on, Sevvy, let's go." Severus angrily brushed himself off and headed out the door with Lily.

The fire was dying in the Gryffindor common room. James, Sirius, and Remus were sitting about. James sat there, slouched in his chair, his arms crossed.

"She can't _really_ be dating him, can she? I mean, doesn't she see what a git he is?"

"You can't force her to date you," said Remus calmly, looking up from his book.

"I know that! I'd rather she date anyone besides Snivellus!" he snapped. Then he added, as an afterthought, "Although yes, preferably me."

"We could just curse him," said Sirius.

"That seems too easy, somehow." Just then, the portrait hole opened, and a rather flushed Lily entered the common room. She marched passed them toward her dormitory.

"Lily, you know he's a slimeball, right? I mean, he's in _Slytherin_ of all places!" demanded James. Lily stopped in her tracks and turned to glare at him.

"He's a hell of a lot better than you are, you self-absorbed toe rag." At that, she turned back around and stalked off to the girls' dormitory, leaving an opened-mouthed James. His brow furrowed, he crossed his arms even tighter across his chest and gave a small _humph_.

"Ouch," sniggered Sirius. Remus merely shook his head, still bowed over his book. James scowled, the swiftly rose out of his chair. Sirius watched him with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm going to bed," snapped James. Angrily he stomped off to the boys' dormitory. Remus sighed and shut his book, looking up to study the way the dying firelight flickered on Sirius.

"You know, we do have O.W.L.s on Monday," he said after a few moments of silence. Sirius remained quiet. Remus felt a flutter of panic in his stomach. Had Sirius finally figured out that he was in love with him? He was sure Sirius would be somehow furious; perhaps he would just never speak to him again.

"Do you ever…er…" Sirius began awkwardly. "Nevermind."

"No, no, what is it? You can tell me." He tried to hide his eagerness as he set his book down and leaned towards him. Sirius was never one to divulge secrets or share what some might call tender moments. This was a very rare occasion indeed.

"Well… uh… you're going to hate me after this… I think…" Sirius swallowed hard, as though he were choking on his words. "I think I might be gay, Moony."

"What?" This was the last thing Remus was expecting to hear. But it made sense. Why else would Sirius be so raucous and over-zealous when it came to women? He was trying to hide it! Remus felt his heart inflate with triumph.

"It's okay, Sirius! I am too." Sirius looked up at him, doubt apparent in his eyes.

"You…are? I mean… I always knew you weren't the… most manly person, but still…" Sirius stared at him, his eyes bright and eager. Some sort of mania was setting in now that he had shared his burning secret. "I mean, you can't tell anyone about this! Especially Prongs! What would he say? He'd laugh at us!" Remus was almost startled at this side of Sirius. Everything was always a joke with him. But for him to be so serious, so honest… it was startling and exciting for Remus.

"I promise, it'll be between just us." Sirius looked like he could have cried with joy.

"Thank you, Moony! You're the best." He grinned and flung himself onto Remus to hug him.


	3. Chapter 3

James lied in his four poster bed, the curtains drawn. Only one face came to mind, and it belonged to the beautiful Lily Evans. He stared without really seeing what he was looking at, his mind only meters away… somewhere around the girls' dormitory. He could hear Sirius snoring. It must be very early, he thought. There was just _no way_ Lily could be with that slimeball. There wasn't much time until the end of term, and soon enough it would be two whole months before he saw Lily again. Surely those two _lovebirds_ would be spending the summer together. Normally Sirius would be his go-to man, but he needed someone with a little more experience in the matters of love. Pulling the curtains back, he got up, put his bathrobe on, and went to his trunk. He pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and his bottle of ink. He brought everything down to the common room, which was empty. Sitting down in a chair, he uncapped his ink well and slowly dipped his quill in, thinking. _Dear Father,_ he began. But how should he phrase his problem best? _I'm in love with this girl, Lily – I've mentioned her before. But she's dating this git from Slytherin. What should I do? How did you meet mum anyways? _He paused as footsteps sounded from the stairs. It was Sirius.

"What are you doing up so early, mate? It's th-the w-w-weekend." Sirius couldn't stifle his yawn.

"Just writing a letter to my parents."

"Your parents? You're going to see them in two weeks!"

"I know, I just… have a question for my dad."

"It's about Lily, isn't it? You're asking him for advice, aren't you?" Sirius knew him too well. There was no point in hiding the truth.

"Er…yeah, I am."

"Good idea!" James bent back down over his letter. _Sirius says hello. Please send back your reply pronto. James. _He signed the letter with a flourish and folded it. Standing up, he looked at Sirius, "Want to come with?" They clamored out of the portrait hole and headed for the owlery.

"So what are you going to do about Lily?"

"Dunno yet," he replied sulkily. James Potter always got his way. Quidditch star, good marks, nearly everybody liked him. They climbed the steps to the owlery.

"I think one good hex would do him some good," Sirius boasted. James merely nodded. No, he thought to himself, it was Lily he had to convince. Perhaps he could talk to her, try to make her see sense. He chose a barn owl, and tied the letter to its leg.

"Take this to my dad, and make it quick," he snapped. The owl clicked its beak indignantly and took off through one of the oval windows. Sirius watched him curiously, his arms folded across his chest. James kept quiet as he made his way back down the stairs, Sirius following him. It was quite uncharacteristic. Suddenly an idea came to him. Surely all girls liked flowers? He would get her flowers! "Sirius, what about flowers? Girls like flowers, don't they?" Sirius looked rather taken aback. "And I'll get her lilies! She'll love that!" He began rushing back to Gryffindor tower, Sirius still quite stunned, but following nonetheless. Hadn't they just done something of the sort in Transfiguration? Moony would show him how to do it, or at least do it for him.

They climbed back through the portrait hole to find a few students up already, Remus included. James rushed over to him, slightly manic over his idea, nearly shouting his request at Remus.

"Hey, you know that thing we just did in Transfiguration? I don't know when it was, but it was turning weeds into flowers! What was the incantation for that? I need flowers!" James had thrown himself into a chair next to Remus, staring at him eagerly.

"You know, James," said Remus serenely. "This is coming up in or O.W.L.s. You should know this. But as I think I know what this is about, I'll help." He waved his wand, and a small bouquet of flowers appeared. They weren't lilies, to James's dismay, but they would do. Remus wasn't usually so accommodating; something must have put him in a good mood, but James didn't question it. He dashed upstairs, quickly dressed, and made a failed effort to flatten his hair. Taking the stairs back to the common room two at a time, he once again threw himself into a chair facing the stairs. He picked up the flowers and waited. Sirius stared at him, his mouth slightly open. This was definitely not his best mate. Perhaps someone had slipped him a love potion. But that certainly couldn't be, because Sirius knew that James already fancied Lily. No, something in him had snapped. That had to be it. Sirius watched James as he impatiently tapped his foot, waiting for Lily to come into the common room. He shook his head, and made his way to get dressed, leaving James to his madness.

It felt like an eternity for James. His back was starting to ache and he was getting cramp in his leg. But he didn't dare move in case he might miss Lily. He watched as people came and went, watched as couples sat together, watched as they left. How late could Lily be sleeping? Or had he already missed her? A thought crossed his mind; perhaps he _had _missed her, and she was already out with Snivellus. He frowned at that thought. But at last, she came down the spiral staircase, fully dressed, with her books under her arm. James immediately stood up, slightly stiff, and walked over to her as she sat down at one of the tables. He brandished the flowers at her, watching her face expectantly. Lily raised an eyebrow, then eyed the flowers.

"You seriously don't expect me to take those, do you?" She shook her head. "So conceited," she muttered, grabbing her books, and marched out of the portrait hole. James stood there for a moment, his mouth gaping. He threw down the flowers and chased after her.

"Lily! Lily, wait!" James slammed into the back of the Fat Lady, forcing her open with a bang, to many shrieking protests. He was faster than her, and caught up. Grabbing her wrist, he spun her around.

"Don't touch me!" She yanked her wrist free.

"I'm sorry," he said, somewhat lamely. "But you honestly don't see what a git Snivellus-"

"Don't call him that." She was seething.

"Sorry," James said again, and corrected himself. "Don't see what a git _Severus_ is? You honestly don't hear about what he does with those Death Eater pals he hangs around with? How about what they did to Mary Macdonald?" He spat the words at her, stinging her. Lily fought back a cringe. She obviously had heard.

"Just what they do doesn't change who Severus is," she spat back at him.

"She's in St. Mungo's, Lily! They tortured her! And your precious _Sevvy_ was right there alongside them! Don't tell me you deny what they do! Or did sweet, naïve little Sevvy forget to mention the details?" James felt the contempt burning in his chest. Jealousy was overheating his head.

"You're no better than they are, what with dangling people by their ankles every five seconds!"

James spluttered. "Yeah, well…well at least I don't go around torturing people into insanity!"

Lily spun back around, tears in her eyes and dashed off towards the library. James clenched his teeth and shut his eyes. Slowly and purposefully, he turned back around faced the Fat Lady, who was obviously not pleased.

"Oh yes, let's just bust through doors, no respect at all!"

"Gobledegook," he muttered. She _humphed _and swung open. James climbed through, sullen, and sat down next to Sirius. He put his head in his hands.

"Didn't go well, I take it?"

"No," James groaned and hung his head. He covered his face with his hands and exhaled. His cheerfully planned conversation had gone disasterously awry.


End file.
